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Aug. 01, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LV police: MS-13 has 100 members

By DAVID KIHARA
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The MS-13 gang, known for cutting off victims' limbs, murder and drug trafficking, has about 100 members in Southern Nevada, but they're not as active as other gangs, authorities said Tuesday.

Questions about the gang, which has ties to Central America, have arisen after 24-year-old Jose Martinez, a Salvadoran, was kidnapped and found shot to death on Sunday. Martinez' family suspects he was killed by a MS-13 gang member. Martinez had the letters "MS" tattooed on his chest, relatives said.

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    • "We have not seen them (MS-13 members) in large numbers here locally," said Las Vegas police Capt. Al Salinas, head of the department's gang unit.

    MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, members make up a small percentage of the 8,000 known gang members in Southern Nevada, Salinas said.

    Police said they were continuing to investigate Martinez' death and hadn't yet found his killers. Authorities are concerned that Martinez' death might spark retaliation.

    Salinas said one reason MS-13 doesn't have a large presence might be the historic conflicts that the Salvadoran-based gang has with Mexican gang members, who are more active in Southern Nevada.

    In the past two years, he said, MS-13 members have been involved in graffiti, a stabbing and a road rage incident.

    Nationally, the gang is known for extorting immigrants and others, killing rivals and drug trafficking.

    Brian Truchon, director of the FBI's MS-13 Task Force in Washington, estimated there are about 8,000 to 10,000 MS-13 members nationwide.

    Truchon said MS-13 gang members are often found in states with rapidly growing immigrant populations, such as Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. He said MS-13 members are known to have day jobs in construction and other industries.

    To crack down on the gang, the FBI is stationing two agents in El Salvador to work with Salvadoran police officials, Truchon said. The agents will be tracking ongoing investigations tied to the United States.

    He said the FBI hopes to place agents in Guatemala and Honduras because MS-13 members are in those countries.

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    SD wrote on August 05, 2007 06:40 PM: I know we need to do something to stop all of the Illegal Immigration. I think Congress and the Senate need to start worrying about enforcing the laws that we presently have.


    tambora wrote on August 01, 2007 12:52 PM: OH, here we go again. MR SHERIFF..HELLO..LET YOUR troops stop the mexicans and talk with them. PUT the INvestigators, detectives, what ever you want to call them back into the police car in uniform. HELLO wake up VEGAS.

    P. HENRY


    no wrote on August 01, 2007 12:00 PM: but,but pres bush says only the good illegals cross the border..would he lie to us???


    BC wrote on August 01, 2007 09:18 AM: "Authorities are concerned that Martinez' death might spark retaliation."



    They should be worried. I think they're worried for the wrong retaliation, though. They should worry that the population of legal residents have had enough. They should worry that a big fire hose will come and hose down the barrios, sending them down the river- the same river Congress is trying to sell America down with their lack of border control. Idiots!


    BC wrote on August 01, 2007 09:18 AM: "Authorities are concerned that Martinez' death might spark retaliation."

    They should be worried. I think they're worried for the wrong retaliation, though. They should worry that the population of legal residents have had enough. They should worry that a big fire hose will come and hose down the barrios, sending them down the river- the same river Congress is trying to sell America down with their lack of border control. Idiots!


    pjs wrote on August 01, 2007 08:11 AM: SO TRUE--keep out illegals


    Pat wrote on August 01, 2007 06:47 AM: This gang has members in rapidly growing illegal immigrant populations, because mose of its members are illegally here from El Salvador. Gangs like this one are another problem illegal immigrants bring to this country. As long as illegal immigration is allowed in this country, the more complex and expensive the problem becomes to solve.